What do Christians, Jews, and Muslims have in common? The three world monotheisms, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, all believe in the Genesis account of creation; the first humans in the Garden of Eden; and the fall of humanity when Adam and Eve disobeyed the Creator. The rest of the world calls the Adam and Eve story a myth; not compatible with science on the emergence of the human species.

Two naked people, a talking snake, and a fruit tree with special powers. An analogy, a tall tale, or a literal story to show and tell how God’s children choose the knowledge of good and evil and disobeyed? But the crux of the story focuses on human freedom—the freedom to make their own choice. But God also outlined the consequence of their choice—death.

Enter the Bible, the Torah, the Quran.
Bible. The name for the complete 66 books in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Torah. The Hebrew name given to the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Quran. The central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God (Allah).

The Bible, the Torah, and the Quran believe that Jesus was Jewish, his disciplines were Jewish, and the people who initially followed them were Jewish. However, they differ on the identity of Jesus.

Judaism. Some regard Jesus as a Jewish teacher, a rabbi, while others see him as a false prophet.

Islam. Muhammad was the founder of Islam and a prophet. “The Quran explicitly makes mention of Jesus, one of 26 prophets named in the Muslim holy book,” according to an article in the Arab Weekly.www.thearabweekly.com/.

Enter a history of conflict, strive, and religious wars.

The state of Israel was established in 1948. The Israeli Occupation refers to the lands captured during the 1967 war that remain under military control, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and Gaza.

The Israeli-Palestinian decades-old conflict is ongoing. Israel is home to holy sites for both Judaism and Islam. Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs both want the same piece of land.

“Israelis and Palestinians are caught in what could be called a “cycle of denial.” The Palestinian national movement denies Israel’s legitimacy, and Israel in turn denies the Palestinians’ national sovereignty. The cycle of denial has defined this shared existence since the creation of Israel 70 years ago,” according to a 2018 article in The Atlantic.

On Dec. 6, 2017, President Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; an event long awaited by pro-Israel American Jews, the nation of Israel and evangelical Christians around the world. But, Jerusalem is also sacred real estate to Arabs and Muslims.

Christians remained the largest religious group in the world in 2015, making up nearly a third (31 percent) of Earth’s 7.3 billion people, according to a Pew Research Center demographic analysis. “More babies were born to Christian mothers than to members of any other religion in recent years, reflecting Christianity’s continued status as the world’s largest religious group,” according to a 2017 article on the Pew website. www.pewforum.org/.

Globally, Muslims make up the second largest religious group, with 1.8 billion people, or 24 percent of the world’s population.

Judaism is the oldest of the world’s three great monotheistic religions (serving one God).

And Judaism, Islam, Christianity, all are strongly tied to the ancient city of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was the capital of King David’s Israel in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the city where David’s son Solomon built his temple.

According to the Quran, Jerusalem was the last place the Prophet Muhammad visited before he ascended to the heavens and conversed with God.

Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, is a celebration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus was crucified at a spot outside Jerusalem called Golgotha.

Judaism, Islam, Christianity; the same beginning—what happened?

Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is an author, columnist, and educator. She lives in U.S.

“Our sovereignty over Jerusalem will never compromise the freedom of worship and religion of all peoples of faith in Jerusalem and in all of Israel,” he told the leaders from the Christian communities at his residence.

“Today, it is a place of pilgrimage for growing numbers of Christians from all over the world,” added Rivlin. “As you know, the State of Israel is working to clear the landmines still in the area and to return the monasteries nearby to their owners.”

The president mentioned his recent meeting with Pope Francis and discussed a “Land of Monasteries” project that will enable “every Christian” to “be able to safely follow the route from Jerusalem to Nazareth via Jericho, and bathe in the waters of the River Jordan.”

“Making this dream into a reality will allow us all—Christians, Muslims and Jews—to express our faith in humanity and in our ability to work together,” said Rivlin. “Even more, this project allows us—Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians—to express our faith that we are not doomed to live together we are destined to live together.”

In attendance were Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, the acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, the representative of the Armenian Patriarch, Custos of the Holy Land and the head of the Franciscan Order in Israel, in addition to the head of the Greek Catholic Church in Haifa and the Galilee.

“I am committed to freedom of religion and worship in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. It is no exaggeration to say that there has never been a time when Jerusalem enjoyed more religious freedom than it does under the State of Israel,” said Deri. “We hope for peace in this small country, holier than any other. Peace is not an extravagance, it is a requirement. We need to work hard for it. We pave the way to peace in daily life with small steps.”

Finally, Rivlin addressed concerns over proposed legislation related to the legality of church properties.

“The State of Israel has no intention of harming the property rights of the churches or their ability to realize their assets to support their activities,” he said. “We will never do that. The churches’ legal representatives were invited to take part in the legal process and to make sure that the agreement under discussion will not harm the churches later on. I hope that discussion and dialogue will produce a solution.”

Theophilos III told Rivlin that “we are concerned that attempts to bring this discriminatory bill that threatens the churches’ humanitarian mission will continue. We are grateful for your wise intervention, and I reiterate our willingness for dialogue, but remind you that we stand united in our opposition.”

The mainstream media was quick to jump on news predicting the pre-Messiah battle of Gog and Magog, with many outlets misstating facts and misrepresenting the important theological concepts. But Rabbi Pinchas Winston, the victim of this “fake news,” saw the hand of God, using their errors to spread a true message.

The article was picked up by dozens of other media, many of them focusing on Rabbi Winston’s statements that the ultimate end-of-days conflict described in prophecy as the War of Gog and Magog might begin with the type of conflict being seen on Israel’s southern border at present. He put this into the context of history as well as citing classical Jewish sources. As an author and a rabbi, Rabbi Winston was precise in his language and BIN presented his words in as accurate a manner as possible.

Though most media reposting the story did so in a faithful manner, other media that cited the BIN article were not so careful. The British tabloid Daily Mail online version described “Rabbi Wilson” [sic] as a “former Chief Rabbi of the IDF.” Rabbi Winston has never served as a rabbi in the Israeli army. After being contacted several times, the editors at the Daily Mail still have not corrected the error. Another British tabloid, The Daily Star, described Rabbi Winston as “a prolific doomsayer,” a moniker that was picked up by several other sites that reposted the story. Some sites misrepresented Winston as claiming the current conflict with Hamas is the beginning of the War of Gog and Magog, a claim he was very careful not to make, maintaining that it might be.

In his weekly online Torah lesson, Rabbi Winston addressed the episode, describing the interview with this reporter.

“The basic question was, ‘Can we know what events will lead to the War of Gog and Magog?’” Winston wrote. “The basic answer was, ‘No.’ I explained to him that the War of Gog and Magog is a variable, meaning that its final form can change based upon where the Jewish people are holding at the time.”

Rabbi Winston speaks extensively about the end-of-days, a complicated process discussed in esoteric sources, in a manner not as cut-and-dried or as simple as the one described in the tabloids. There are many stages, each with its own dynamics and meanings.

“I am well aware of the dangers of making predictions having to do with the End-of-Days,” Winston wrote. “I know the danger of telling people something SPECIFIC will happen by a certain date, and it doesn’t. I’ve learned the curse of the Talmud for people who predict Moshiach’s arrival because of the despair this can cause when it does not come to fruition. I couldn’t predict such a date even if I wanted to.”

“My message is controversial, so I am VERY careful how I say it. There are many things that have been discussed by me which I have not allowed to make it to print. I know how people react to such information. I was reminded of this again just last week.”

“But alas, we’re living in an age of sensationalist journalism and what has come to be called ‘false news.’ So, the Alex Jones Report picked it up, and they added a great sense of urgency to the message, quoting me as saying that the war in Gaza WILL lead to the biblical War of Gog and Magog.”

“The Drudge Report, also a right-wing media source, picked it up from the Alex Jones Report, and just like that, a couple million more people potentially were exposed to the War of Gog and Magog beginning in Gaza last week. One person, probably seeing one of these two ‘news sources,’ wrote me personally, angry that I spoke about such a conflict, even calling it disgraceful.”

In a truly inspiring manner, Rabbi Winston managed to find what he called “Divine Providence” in the situation.

“It was just weird, and somewhat amusing…how THIS particular message THIS time got so much attention,” Winston wrote. “The more I thought about it, the more I considered the chain of events, the more it felt as if God had been the One to make a point of making this local message more international.”

“But the message is the message, and when it is not adulterated by sloppy reporting, it is one that I stand by 100 percent,’ he concluded. “And, if God decided to take it to the masses (He obviously doesn’t need my copyright permission), in whatever form it gets there, then you must wonder, what’s He trying to tell us?”

Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” (Genesis 23:1-19)

Jewish men outside the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. (Credit: Lerner Vadim / Shutterstock.com)

Joint List and Meretz Knesset members will host a conference at the Knesset next week calling for the immediate expulsion of Jews from the ancient city of Hebron.

“The settlement in Hebron is the expression of an extremist government policy that pours mass sums of money and endangers human lives to strengthen and maintain a handful of extremist settlers. The evacuation of the settlement in Hebron is a first and necessary step to promoting a diplomatic solution and bringing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an end,” Joint List MKs Ayman Odeh and Dov Khenin, as well as Meretz MK Michal Rozin, said in a statement.

The “Hebron First” conference will include a speech by the executive director of the radical pro-Palestinian organization B’Tselem, who was recently invited by the U.N. Security Council to give a speech condemning Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

Leaders of Breaking the Silence, Peace Now, Yesh Din, and Palestinians from Hebron are also invited; however, members of Hebron’s Jewish community were issued no invitations to participate or discuss any of the organizers’ statements or accusations. They said the conference reflected undemocratic and extreme policy ideas.

“Let’s just call this conference what it is: a plan to ethnically cleanse the tiny Jewish minority in Hebron and make it Judenrein,” said Yishai Fleisher, the International Spokesperson for the Jewish Community of Hebron. “This is a type of ‘final solution’—to evict our ethnic minority from the cradle of Jewish civilization in order to appease the jihad — will only make further war against Israel and against decent Arabs who want to live in a free and diverse Jewish state.”

Organizers of the conference said that the 85 families and hundreds of students living in Hebron represent a “cruel segregation regime,” though Jewish families live in just 3 percent of the city, which is home to approximately 200,000 Arabs.

But Fleisher called Hebron a “part of Israel’s core identity,” and said the organizers’ opinions are “out of touch” with the Israeli public.

“It’s obvious that the organizers of this conference are not in touch with the Israeli public, who visit Hebron to the tune of 700,00 visitors a year, and 40,000 over Shabbat Chayei Sarah, which is also attended by several Knesset members and government ministers,” he said.

“I think they’re totally out of touch with how the nation of Israel identifies with Hebron and how much it is a part of Israel’s core identity,“ continued Fleisher. “Moreover, the Israeli government has just approved new building in Hebron for the first time in 20 years. So that is where we’re going, and that is where the U.S. administration is going, and this conference will only serve to show the true face of the Arab parties and the out-of-touch extreme left.”

Knesset regulations require that conferences be approved by the Speaker of the Knesset, who is Yuli Edelstein. Because organizers anticipated Edelstein’s rejection, they are defining the event as a “gathering” in order to sidestep the parliamentary rule.

Hebron is an ancient city making its introduction to Jewish tradition in the Torah, which records Abraham’s purchase of the Tomb of Machpelah as a burial site for his wife, Sarah. Though control of the city exchanged hands over the millennia, Hebron featured an almost continuous Jewish presence until the present day.

“Observe them faithfully, for that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing of all these laws will say, ‘Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people.’” Deuteronomy 4:6 (The Israel Bible)

“There is clearly a massive appetite and yearning among the Nations to understand what the Jews are really about, and to hear from them and understand what the Torah has to say about God’s unfolding plan for the geula – the imminent redemption of the entire world.

“This remarkable phenomenon of the awakening of so many holy souls among the Nations to get closer to God and discover His Torah, is both mysterious and wonderful, and strongly suggests that these stirrings are directed from above and are signs of the arrival of the geula.” So says Nachum Shaw of Promised Land Publishers.

Shaw spoke to Breaking Israel News about his unique publishing house. “To help reveal and spread the wisdom of the Torah and its uplifting and enlightening message to the widest possible readership, both Jewish and non-Jewish, I formed a new publishing house called Promised Land. Promised Land just published five books by Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum, the world-renowned author of over 25 books on Jewish spiritual teachings.”

Shaw told Breaking Israel News that one of Rabbi Greenbaum’s new books, The House on the Mountain, contains, “Jewish spiritual teachings that are destined to be taught to all the inhabitants of the world. It explains all aspects of Judaism and the central role that the soon to be built Third Temple will have in bringing balance back to nature and our environment, and peace, happiness, spiritual fulfilment and goodness to the whole world, with the coming of Moshiach (Messiah).”

There’s also a fulfillment of a prophecy directed to the Jewish people in this trend of publishing Torah books expressly for non-Jewish readers. “If we look at Exodus 19:6, we are told that the Children of Israel will be to God, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the children ofYisrael.” Exodus 19:6

“As the Jews’ role is to be priests to the Nations, it follows that spreading Torah literature to the Nations greatly helps the Jewish people to accomplish this role,” Shaw argued.

Connecting these two ideas – the publication of books containing Torah concepts intended for people from the Nations and Redemption – is echoed in the comments of Rabbi Lazer Brody. Rabbi Brody translated The Universal Garden of Emuna, written by Rabbi Shalom Arush. Emuna is the spiritual principle of unshakeable belief that God runs the world. The Universal Garden of Emuna was adapted from a similar book originally written for a Jewish audience.

Speaking to Breaking Israel News, Rabbi Brody invoked a prophetic sentence from the Jewish prayer Aleinu. “We say thrice daily in Aleinu, ‘And all of living flesh shall call Your Name.’ The closer we get to Moshiach, the more humanity will realize that emuna is the only path to peace and happiness. That’s what the world is hungry for.” The Universal Garden of Emuna was written to bring this redemptive message to non-Jews.

Yisrael Rosenberg, author of a forthcoming commentary on the Book of Isaiah which he wrote for Christian readers, meets many Christians who are interested in books like his. Rosenberg told Breaking Israel News, “My personal experience is that many Christians are hungry for knowledge about the Jewish roots of their faith. I wrote my upcoming book, ISAIAH: End Times and Messiah in Judaism ​in response to the interest that many Christians, both clergy and laypeople, have shown for these issues. On one level, I seek to meet the growing demand for the Jewish ‘take’ on faith-related topics.”

Rosenberg echoed Rabbi Brody’s emphasis on emuna when he continued, “On a deeper level, I am convinced that the simple, practical approach to emuna (faith in God) as presented by the 19th-century Hasidic teacher Rabbi Nachman of Breslov could serve as a source of universal teachings that might help non-Jews grow closer to Hashem (God).”

Both Rosenberg and Rabbi Tuly Weisz, director of Israel365 and the publisher of The Israel Bibleand Breaking Israel News addressed themselves to what’s behind this trend.

Rosenberg credits the Internet with changing the relationship between Christians and traditional Torah teaching. “One of the key drivers is the Internet, which allows curious people to dig in and find basic information about Judaism, in a way that has never been available before.​ All of humanity is becoming more and more connected with every passing day,” he said.

Rabbi Weisz shared a longer historical perspective. “The big picture goes back 500 years to the Protestant Reformation and even a little bit before, to the invention of the printing press. That was a major transition, where all of a sudden, Christians started reading the Bible. Everyone had a Bible in their home.

“Christians are realizing that the Bible is a work that’s all about the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and it’s taken a long time for this all to crystalize. It’s clarifying and crystalizing in a significant way that there’s a plan for the Jewish people that’s spelled out in the Bible.

“The Bible describes the history of Israel in the past and the present-day situation of the Jewish people in the exile, as well as the future promise of the restoration and the ingathering of the exiles. It was always some kind of mythical, mystical idea that is obviously coming to fruition in front of our eyes, in front of their eyes.

“These are the big factors leading to this growing interest in the Jewish perspective, in the Hebrew Roots of Christianity and in the Torah,” he argued.

And the many peoples shall go and say: “Come, Let us go up to the Mount of Hashem, To the House of the God ofYaakov; That He may instruct us in His ways, And that we may walk in His paths.” For instruction shall come forth fromTzion, The word of Hashem fromYerushalayim. Isaiah 2:3

“That’s like our foundational scripture for Yeshiva for the Nations and The Israel Bible – this idea that in the end of days, the non-Jews are going to say, ‘Teach us the Torah, for from Zion shall come forth the Torah.’

“It’s so exciting to be a part of that. It’s so exciting to see that actually happen. The ingathering of the exiles we’ve seen. The rebirth of the Land we’ve seen. The last promise is this idea that the non-Jews are going to say, “Teach us the Torah.” And that’s particularly what drives me, what drives Yeshiva for the Nations and what drives The Israel Bible.”

Shaw ties it all together. “If we look at Isaiah, we see the prophet talking about the (future) Temple in Jerusalem.

I will bring them to My sacred mount And let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices Shall be welcome on My mizbayach; For My House shall be called A house of prayer for all peoples.” Isaiah 56:7

How will this be possible unless the Nations are first introduced to and know what is in God’s Torah? The wide distribution of Torah literature can help to facilitate this knowledge,” he clarified.

Let them lick dust like snakes, Like crawling things on the ground! Let them come trembling out of their strongholds To Hashem our God; Let them fear and dread You! Micah 7:17 (The Israel Bible)

A coin snake. (Credit: Flickr/Screenshot)

A snake wriggling out from between the stones of the Western Wall in search of a meal brought with it a message straight from Jewish mystical teachings; connecting the archetypal enemy of man with the High Priest in the Temple, and also, perhaps, serving as a harbinger of the Messiah.

Women who went to the Kotel (Western Wall) on Wednesday were shocked to see a snake crawling out from between the ancient stones. The Coin Snake, common to the region, is not venomous but it is similar in appearance to the deadly viper also found in Israel. The snake was probably seeking a meal of pigeons or eggs but it brought with it a powerful message.

A Hebrew language blogger quoted by Ynet News noted the serpent made its Jerusalem appearance during a hotly contested mayoral election, connecting it to the destruction of the Second Temple.

“The snake appeared during this time of dispute and divisiveness at the site of the Temple which was destroyed because of widespread hatred and divisiveness.”

Another commentator saw a connection between the reptilian appearance and current events, referring to a recent head-on automobile accident near the Dead Sea that killed a family of eight and the horrific murder of 11 Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue.

“How symbolic that this snake should appear at the place that is the heart of the Jewish people, where so many Jews were killed, at a time when Jews are still being killed. We have received a symbolic warning from these holy stones.”

Pointing to the pigeon that fled the snake in the video, Sod1820, a Hebrew language kabbalah site, cited Midrash (homiletic teachings), Israel is compared to a pigeon or dove, noted for the faithfulness in having a single partner in its lifetime. Such is Israel, faithful to Hashem (God, literally, ‘the name) even in times of danger.

“We are truly in the dangerous times that directly precede Mashiach (Messiah),” the article in Sod 1820 read. “Just as the pigeon is safe so long as it seeks shelter among the stones of the Temple Mount, the Jews are protected by the Torah commandments. When the pigeon comes out from the stones or the the Jews move away from the Torah, they are in danger.”

The site also claimed the appearance of a snake coming out of the stones of the Temple Mount could be seen as an auspicious sign. In gematria (Hebrew numerology) nachash (snake) נחש equals 358, the same as Moshiach (Messiah) משיח. The Zohar (the basis of Jewish mysticism) explained that the evil inclination, personified by the snake in Eden, will make a resurgence in the days before Messiah, tempted to come and drink sustenance from the enormous levels of holiness that will appear in the world in the end-of-days.

It was noted in Sod1820 that the snake appeared in the women’s prayer section, emphasizing its relevance to women. In Genesis, it is described how Eve was tempted into sin by the snake.

Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts that Hashem had made. He said to the woman, “Did Hashem really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?” Genesis 3:1

According to Jewish tradition, the curse of Eve, represented by menstrual blood and labor pains, will be canceled out in the Messianic era. Before the Messiah, God will kill the archetypal snake, removing the curse of Eve.

Another connection between the lowly snake and holiness is implicit in the Hebrew words. The letters of the word nachash can be rearranged to spell choshen (breastplate), worn by the Kohen Gadol (high priest) in the Temple. The Zohar states that the tikkun (fixing) of the snake would be accomplished in the Third Temple by way of the breastplate. Embedded in the breastplate were 12 precious stones, each representing a tribe of Israel. When faced with a difficult situation, the kings of Israel could inquire and the stones of the breastplate would shine in sequence, providing them with a divine response to their question. This was a Tikkun for the snake which gave a deceitful response to Eve.

It does indeed seem like the Temple Mount is trying to speak to the Jewish people. About four months ago, a large piece of one of the stones weighing several hundred pounds suddenly fell, barely missing one of the women who came to pray at dawn. Another sign appeared on Hoshana Rabba, the last day of Sukkot, when a large cloud of mist began billowing up from the ground inside the Temple Mount Compound, surrounding the Dome of the rock for several minutes.

A remarkably unseasonal downpour drenched parts of Israel, leading many Jews to turn their eyes to heaven in search of understanding: was this a blessing or perhaps the opposite. As Joshua Wander watched the rain fall on the Temple Mount, the conclusion he came to was decidedly uncomfortable.

Israel is an arid country with about 70 percent of the average rain falling between November and March. June through August are often rainless. This is reflected in the daily prayers in which the prayer for rain is inserted at the end of the autumnal holiday of Sukkoth and continues until the spring holiday of Passover. This has its roots in the agricultural basis of the religion and unseasonal rain can damage crops.

The Bible describes the weather in Israel as a result of the Jews’ relationship with God.

If, then, you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day, loving Hashem your God and serving Him with all your heart and soul, I will grant the rain for your land in season, the early rain and the late. You shall gather in your new grain and wine and oil Deuteronomy 11:13-14

When heavy rain fell, accompanied in places by thunder, many were reminded of this verse and wondered if this rain signified divine displeasure. The weather forecasts were accompanied by flash flood warnings, a reminder that in April, similar unseasonal rains generated a flash flood that killed ten teens.

Wander, a resident of the Mount of Olives, was watching the rain fall on the Temple Mount. He had never seen rain in Israel so late in the summer season. As a religious Jew, he searched for a reason for such a strange phenomenon and he thought of what was taking place 25 miles south of where he was standing. In Netiv Ha’avot, a neighborhood in the city of Elazar in Gush Etzion, 15 homes were being destroyed.

“It just seemed so clear that Hashem (God, literally ‘the name’) was crying,” Wander told Breaking Israel News. “I am going through a roller coaster of feelings because of what is happening there. Families are being torn from their houses.”

Rabbi Yosef Dayan, a member of the nascent Sanhedrin and a descendant of King David, agreed with Wander.

“We pray for rain in its season and when it comes out of season, this is surely a sign of divine intervention,” Rabbi Dayan told Breaking Israel News. “It is impossible to say that we know why these things happen, but the destruction of Jewish homes in Netiv Ha’Avot is very serious. We have much to be happy for in Israel today but there are so many things we need to pay attention to. Yes, Netiv Ha’Avot is awful and it is good to think that God is crying because Jews are being made homeless. But the situation on the Temple Mount is no better. And that is also our fault.”

The rabbi compared the situation on the Temple Mount to a prophecy in Haggai.

Is it a time for you to dwell in your paneled houses, while this House is lying in ruins? Haggai 1:4

“Building up the land is not enough if we lose sight of why we are here,” Rabbi Dayan said. “Jerusalem, Har HaBayit (the Temple Mount), is why it is important to fight for Netiv Ha’Avot. It is all one.”

Over the years, I have often heard atheists pose the question, “What kind of evidence would it take you to give up your Christian belief?” In many cases, the assumption behind the question seems to be that the Christian should have some clear threshold of evidence in mind. And failure to state what that threshold is would call into question the rationality and intellectual seriousness of the Christian.

Atheists aren’t the only ones posing this kind of demand. I recently came across a similar view expressed by Christian apologist Max Andrews in the following tweet:

“When dialoguing with your interlocutor, ask them, ‘What must obtain so that your position be changed or that you’re convinced of my position?’ If they fail to present conditions or claim that nothing will, discard the conversation and neglect the casting of pearls before swine.” (source)

I disagree strongly with Mr. Andrews’ sentiments and in this article, I’m going to explain why by considering what it means to have an open-mind and whether the possession of an open-mind is essential for worthwhile conversation.

Does Having an Open Mind Require You to Know When it Would Change?

First up, Andrews, assumes that having an open-mind about a belief entails having the ability to state the conditions under which one would give up that belief. But I see no reason to think that is true.

Consider the example of Calvinism. After growing up a default Arminian, I became a Calvinist in 1999. Two years later, I rejected Calvinism and returned to an Arminian position, albeit a post-critical Arminian position.

While I am an Arminian once again, I certainly think I’m open-minded on this topic and I know many Calvinists who would agree with me. Despite that fact, I can’t say what exactly would persuade me to change my mind on the question: new exegesis of Romans 9? A novel argument in favor of soft determinism or perhaps the incompatibility of libertarian free will with divine foreknowledge? I’m not sure. Anyone of these could change my mind, but without having the evidence presented to me, I can’t be sure.

I do suspect that if I were to change my mind and accept Calvinism again, it would likely come about as the result of a gradual process in which various arguments or lines of evidence would slowly erode my commitment to Arminianism leading to the moment when I suddenly come to realize, “Hey, I’m a Calvinist again!”

The fact is that this is typically how major belief conversions occur: slowly, over time, by way of multiple small steps culminating finally in one big change. But the ability to anticipate precisely the moment when that change would occur on a particular topic is typically something we don’t know.

To conclude my first objection, it seems to me that the ability to identify the point at which you’d abandon a belief is not an essential hallmark of open-mindedness.

Is a Conversation Only Worthwhile if Your Interlocutor has an Open Mind?

Now, let’s grant for the sake of argument that a particular individual is not, in fact, open-minded. Surely that person isn’t worth a conversation, so we should just move on, right?

Maybe, but then again, maybe not: and this brings me to my second point of disagreement. Andrews assumes that this conversation is only worthwhile if your interlocutor is presently open to changing her mind as a result of this conversation. But I disagree. Such openness is certainly valuable for worthwhile conversation, but it is hardly a requirement.

For starters, keep in mind that while your interlocutor may not be open-minded now, it hardly follows that they won’t be open-minded tomorrow. But if you cut off the interactions now, you’ll never get to tomorrow. And how can you know that even now you aren’t slowly eroding her convictions and opening up her mind? The fact is that changes in belief can be occurring well before we recognize they are occurring. So the surface closed-mindedness could be concealing a slow evolution in thinking that isn’t yet evident. And if you burn a bridge now, you may never get to that moment of belief change.

Is a Conversation Only Worthwhile if Your Interlocutor Eventually Changes Her Mind?

Finally, Andrews appears to assume that apologetic conversations are only worthwhile if they move your interlocutor toward changing her mind. I disagree with this as well. Even if your interlocutor is and will forever remain closed-minded, these kinds of exchanges can have all sorts of additional goods that make them eminently worthwhile.

For example, maybe you need to change your mind and this exchange with your conversation partner could help you do that. After all, nobody is right all the time. So whatever the mindset of your interlocutor, this conversation could be a powerful catalyst for your own intellectual development.

And while I’m talking about intellectual development, here’s another possibility: your interlocutor may not change your mind, but your exchanges with her could lead you to become more effective at sharing your views and fielding criticisms. This too is a boon that could make a conversation well worthwhile.

And here’s one more possibility. This one is radical, but please keep, ahem, an open-mind. What if you had conversations with people not simply to change their minds but because you wanted to cultivate a friendship with them and the amiable and spirited sharing of disagreement is part of friendship? In short, could friendship be a sufficient reason to have a conversation? Surely the question answers itself.

Conclusion

For all these reasons, I disagree with Andrews’ tweet. I don’t think that his conception of an open-mind is helpful. Nor, for that matter, do I think an open-mind is an essential criterion for worthwhile conversation.

In closing, I’d also like to address Andrews’ allusion to a famous porcine metaphor. My simple warning here is for the Christians: while I recognize that Jesus uses the vivid metaphor of casting pearls before swine (Mt. 7:6) it doesn’t follow that we too should use that same metaphor in our contexts.

Put it this way. Consider how you’d feel if your interlocutor characterized her exchanges with you as casting her pearls of wisdom before your cloven porcine hooves. I’m guessing that you probably wouldn’t appreciate the metaphor.

With that in mind, my suggestion is that if you really want to quote from Matthew 7 to inspire and guide our apologetic and evangelistic conversations, we should stick with verse 12: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…”

(SCREENSHOT: WBKO)Pastor Ryan Broers of Cave City Baptist Church in Kentucky.

A Kentucky pastor who purged the rolls of his church of members who he says have been attending church poorly, is now coming under fire for how the now fuming ex-members say they were delisted.

Cave City Baptist Senior Pastor Ryan Broers told WBKO he was trying to send the delinquent members of his church a “wake-up call” when he sent them delisting letters this week.

“A lot of the people that the letters were sent to are not attending church anywhere, and this was kind of a wake-up call to them ‘you’ve broken fellowship with God, you’ve broken fellowship with this church, you need to come back and repent and get your relationship with Him.'” Broers said.

Samantha Esters, who had been attending the church since she was a kid, told WBKO however that the only message she got from the way she was delisted is to never return to the church again.

“I don’t ever want to go back to that church,” said Esters after receiving a letter informing her of her delisting that was sent out on July 16.

The letter signed by Broers and Student & Worship Pastor Steven Wilson, point out to the members how much the church cherished their membership but notes that: “Some circumstance has kept you from performing your duties as defined in the by-laws of Cave City Baptist Church.”

It then quotes a section of the by-laws outlining the responsibilities of Cave City church members.

“Members are expected, first of all, to be faithful in all the duties essential to the Christian life; and also, to attend habitually the services of His church, to give regularly to its support and its causes, and to share in its organized work,” it noted.

After informing the members that they had been removed from the membership roll for failing to carry out their duties at the church, the pastors added: “It is our sincere hope that you are living a life of faith. A life of faith is certainly more important than having your name on a membership list. It is about worshiping, studying God’s words, serving the name of Christ, and receiving the nourishment of the Lord’s Supper. It is about gathering regularly with other sisters and brothers of the faith. That is what is important!”

They ended the letter by telling the members that: “The doors of Cave City Baptist Church will always be open to you.”

Broers says that the letters were only sent to members who had not attended the church in at least the past year.

“These are people that we haven’t heard from, they’ve received multiple letters inquiring about their membership,” he said of the delisted members.

Esters said, however, that she attended the church just three weeks prior to receiving the letter.

“That’s wrong,” she said about the Broer’s statement. “I was in shock that they could kick somebody out, especially after I had just been there a couple Sundays ago.”

Some critics of the delisting noted online that elderly people who were unable to attend church were also sent letters.

Since the members went public with their grouse over being delisted, the church has suspended its social media accounts and several calls for comment went unanswered.

Broers told WBKO that any delisted member can call and request to keep their membership alive.

“If anyone wants to come back, they’re welcome to come back,” Broers said. “There’s no hard feelings towards anyone that received the letter. I preach the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts and steps on people’s toes,” he said.

“Preachers that like to brag about ‘stepping on toes’ if that’s what you are doing then you are failing. How can sheep follow when their feet are always sore – they don’t. They sit hungry, thirsty and in pain. Toes are the wrong target, aim for the heart,” he wrote in a statement on Facebook late Tuesday.

(PHOTO: REUTERS/STRINGER)Christians attend Sunday service in the Virgin Mary Church at Samalout Diocese in Al-Our village, in Minya governorate, south of Cairo, May 3, 2015. Copts have long complained of discrimination under successive Egyptian leaders and Sisi’s actions suggested he would deliver on promises of being an inclusive president who could unite the country after years of political turmoil. However, striking out at extremists abroad might prove easier than reining in radicals at home. Orthodox Copts, the Middle East’s biggest Christian community, are a test of Sisi’s commitment to tolerance, a theme he often stresses in calling for an ideological assault on Islamist militants threatening Egypt’s security.

A Coptic journalist has detailed her frustration living as a woman in an Egyptian society where men regularly treat Christian woman as whores, and shared ways in which the Coptic Church has also mistreated females.

Engy Magdy, a Cairo-based journalist, authored an op-ed published by Brooklyn-based Catholic news website The Tablet on Wednesday that detailed the plight that women, especially Christian woman, face in Egypt.

“To be a woman in a country where most of her people see women as a disgrace, and at best look at her from a sexual point of view, it is a heavy burden, but even worse when you are a Christian woman,” she wrote. “It is hell!”

As many women across the world today are speaking out about the sexual abuses they have faced at the hands of men, Magdy said that sexual harassment in Egypt should be described as a country-wide “epidemic.” She cited a 2013 United Nations study that found that 99 percent of Egyptian women have been subjected to harassment.

In the Muslim-majority African country, Christian women and other religious minorities who don’t cover their heads in public are targets.

“Most Muslim women in Egypt wear hijab and therefore, the others who do not wear it are most likely Coptic,” Magdy said. “This means that the Egyptian man thinks he has the right to harass her, simply because he sees her as a whore and a disbeliever.”

“You may think that I am talking about a certain class of men, but in fact, most Muslim men (not all, but the majority) view the Coptic woman as easy prey,” she continued. “He thinks that he will have a religious reward if he can manipulate her emotionally and persuade her to marry him, or to convert to Islam, a phenomenon prevalent in Upper Egypt.”

Magdy explained that she is careful to watch out for those types of men, some of whom she has worked with in the past.

“[S]ociety looks at the woman who is liberal and open minded, especially if she is Coptic, in a very bad way,” she added.

What’s worse, Hagdy said, is that in many cases, the community will always defend the harasser against allegations of a woman who was harassed.

She added that in some cases where women report harassment, they are told not to “get caught up in a scandal” because “shame will be on you.”

“And if the victim is Christian or does not wear a hijab you hear: ‘You have to be decent and cover up your body,'” Magdy stated.

Victim shaming

The study also found that victim shaming is common in Egypt, even among women. Eighty-four percent of women surveyed agreed that “women who dress provocatively deserve to be harassed.”

“Unfortunately, women play a big role in oppressing each other. Religious fanaticism and the claim of virtue make women blame the victim,” Magdy explained. “Although Article 306 of the Egyptian penal code states that sexual harassment is punishable by up to 50,000 Egyptian pounds or a prison sentence ranging from six months to five years, women in Egypt do not rely on the law to protect them because when a girl tries to seek justice, she is blamed or threatened. Usually, perpetrators get off scot-free.”

Magdy stated that Christian women are afraid to file reports because they fear police will discriminate against them if they do.

Magdy claims that Egyptian society is in a state of “duality,” where it announces the importance of “liberation and enlightenment” but does not live out those ideals.

#ChurchToo

She also criticized the Coptic Orthodox Church for not differing from the culture in the way it treats women.

“Although the Egyptian Constitution provides gender equality, there is a great legal vacuum and social injustice. For example, when it comes to inheritance, double injustice is inflicted upon women in this regard. Sharia law, which grants women half the share of men, applies to all Egyptians in this matter,” she explained. “What makes things worse is that most Coptic families deliberately usurp the inheritance of women. While the Egyptian government asked the Church to draft family law for Christians, the Church overlooked the inheritance issue.”

Another way women are slighted is the fact that the guardianship of their own children is usually transferred to a male relative when the husband passes away. In many cases, she said, mothers are deprived access to their children by their fathers-in-law.

“The Church in Egypt is governed only by the male culture prevailing in society. In addition to the issue of inheritance, there is more injustice when it comes to divorce,” she stated.

Coptic women are not allowed to ask for divorce in the church even if they are physically or psychologically abused by their husbands because it is considered “shameful,” according to Magdy.

“In cases where women ask for help from the Church, the usual response from the priest is: ‘You have to sacrifice for your family … just pray for your husband and everything will be okay.'”

No hope for the future?

Magdy said she spends about half of her monthly salary just to send her daughter to school so that she can receive a decent education. Yet, Magdy knows that when her daughter grows up, it will be “impossible” for her to “attain a leadership position.”

“When she is harassed or assaulted, she will not get her right to justice, and perhaps she will keep silent,” Magdy wrote. “As a girl with no brother, her cousins will share in the inheritance of her father. If her marriage fails one day, she won’t have a second chance. These thoughts all gather in my chest, suffocating me when I think about my daughter’s future.”

In addition to the abuse and mistreatment outlined by Magdy, Coptic Christian women and girls are at greater risk of being abducted. Last year, an ex-kidnapper detailed the inner workings of network of abductors who get paid by Islamic extremists to kidnap Coptic Christian girls.

“The Indian church is part of a larger Indian society,” D’Souza said. “The Indian society has a very chauvinistic attitude. It is rampant inside and outside the church. It is important that our children and families are taught about the value of the girl child and the woman and frontly deal with the issue of dowry, which so many of our girls end up being abused or harassed or some end up marrying non-Christians.”